L'Atalante (1934)
Directed by Jean Vigo

Film Review

At first sight, this would appear to be a pretty run-of-the-mill kind of love story.  However, the end result is anything but ordinary, and the film is now almost universally regarded as one of the greatest and most influential French films ever made. This is all the more surprising given the troubled history of the film.  After its initial showing in 1934, the film was subjected to a major re-edit, with many scenes moved around and 20 minutes of footage removed.  The original score by Maurice Jaubert was replaced by a popular song and the film renamed Le Chaland qui Passe. In spite of these changes, the film was poorly received and was a box office disaster.   However, some years later, the film was restored to its original form and now is rightly regarded as a beautiful film and an important part of French cinema history.

It is difficult to pin-point wherein lies the magic of L'Atalante.  It was the final film of the young director Jean Vigo, who, a T.B. sufferer,  died of septicemia shortly after the film was released, at the age of 29.  Despite his comparative youth and inexperience as a film director (this was only his fourth film), Vigo's direction has an uncanny maturity and confidence, which often appears  sophisticated by the standards of the early 1930s.  It is certainly a contrast to his earlier films, which were more cynical and less accessible than this.  The story of Atalante would appear to have been of great importance to Jean Vigo.

The camera work is again excellent by the standards of 1934, with some very moving images of France during the 1930s depression, matching the mood of the piece when the lovers are separated very well.   The surreal scene where a melancholic Jean dives into the canal and sees a mirage of Juliette in her wedding dress is particularly noteworthy.

Another important element is Jaubert's magnificent, often haunting, musical score, which heightens the mood very well throughout.

However, the film's trump card is probably Michel Simon as the barge hand, Père Jules, arguably his most successful film role.  He brings a humour to the film which is pleasing without distracting from the main story.  And, in L'Atalante he has two of the best and funniest lines of any French film from this period.

Dita Parlo and Jean Dasté are well-cast as the two newly weds, with fine character performances from some lesser members of the cast.

This is an excellent film by any standards, but it is probably the untimely death of its director, Jean Vigo, that marks it out as particularly special.  It hints at those great films which would have followed if Vigo had lived, but which the world of cinema has been cruelly denied.

Film Synopsis

This is  the story of a young village woman, Juliette,  who joins her new husband, Jean, a bargeman on his working barge, L'Atalante.  After a while, Juliette grows tired of her new life traversing the canals of France and yearns to visit Paris.  During a brief visit to the city, Juliette encounters a young pedler and appears to be attracted to him.  Jealous, when Juliette subsequently goes off on a trip, Jean sets off in his barge, leaving Juliette behind.  After a period of separation and great anguish, the husband and wife are finally reunited.